Old farm shed – Abandoned Japan

I pass many old structures while wandering about in the mountains of central Japan. In this particular case I turned on the camera as I strolled by. Structures like this were once an important part of the economic infrastructure when Japan’s primary economic activity was agriculture. Every farmer or small group of farmers would require a shed to hold their farm implements and for temporary storage for freshly harvested fruit and vegetables. In some areas specialized sheds were constructed to act as rest areas where farmers could take a short break from their difficult outdoor labor. Additional sheds were sometimes built for specific purposes such as fumigation, or to even act as growing sheds for shade-loving crops such as delicious shitake mushrooms. Modernization has brought many changes to Japan, not the least of which is the shift of human population and available labor from the rural farming communities to large, cosmopolitan cities such as Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo. With few young people left to carry on the farming lifestyle many of the farm sheds as well as homes and entire farm compounds have been given up after the older generation retires and there is nobody left to carry on. Sheds such as the building in this video are an example of the crumbling ruin of a once vibrant lifestyle and livelihood.

Welcome to the Abandoned Japan channel. My name is Kurt Bell and I am delighted that you have taken some time to share a little of Japan with me. I’m available on Facebook and Google+ if you have questions or just want to chat and say hi. I can also be found at the JVLOG forum with other Japan-related content creators. All links are listed below. I look forward to meeting you on-line. Have a great day!